Top dollar Texas cops

Princely overtime payments for some Houston police DWI task force members cry out for closer scrutiny

The Houston Chronicle

HOUSTON, Texas — Arresting drunken drivers and securing their conviction is a laudable police goal, but it appears some Houston police officers have received extraordinarily large overtime payments for off-duty court appearances. The practice raises questions about HPD's management of scarce law enforcement resources and department policies that may have encouraged wasteful expenditures.

As reported by the Chronicle's Matt Stiles and Steve McVicker, Senior Houston police officer William Lindsey, a member of the HPD DWI task force, received more than $100,000 in overtime last year, giving him a total income of $172,000, higher than the city salary of Mayor Bill White and only slightly less than HPD Chief Harold Hurtt. Lindsey's overtime for 2005 is nearly half that of the $300,000-plus total paid to eight other DWI task force members. The veteran officer also racked up substantial totals for the previous two years. He was suspended for 15 days in 1990 for filing inaccurate overtime claims.